Macedonian Canadians () are Canadian citizens of

ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( ) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, ...

descent, who reside in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. According to the 2021 census there were 39,440 Canadians who claimed full or partial Macedonian ancestry.

History

Ethnicity and origins

In the first half of the 20th century, most of the Macedonians were largely classified as

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

Macedono-Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians (), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from the region of Ma ...

.South Slavic immigration in America, Twayne Publishers. A division of G. K. Hall & Co., Boston, George Prpic, John Carroll University, 1976, Chapter 18, The Bulgarians and Macedonians. p. 212 ..."The smallest of the South Slavic ethnic groups in America are the Bulgarians. One branch of them are the Macedonians."... Until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, most people who today identify themselves as Macedonian Canadians claimed a Bulgarian ethnic identity and were recorded as part of the Bulgarian ethnic group. The term Macedonian was used as a geographic/regional term rather than an ethnic one. At that time the political organization by the Slavic immigrants from the

region of Macedonia Macedonia ( ) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid-19th century. ...

, the

Macedonian Patriotic Organization Macedonian Patriotic Organization (MPO) is a diaspora organization in the United States and Canada. It was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, in 1922, by Macedonian Bulgarian immigrants originating mainly from Greek Macedonia. It was ...

, also promoted the idea of Macedonian Slavs being

History of immigration

Many Macedonians emigrated to Canada as "pečalbari" (

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

) in the early 20th century. Thousands of Macedonians emigrated to Canada after the failure of the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

. The first Macedonian organizations were the Zhelevo Benevolence Brotherhood and the Oschima Benefit Society St. Nicholas, both established in 1907 in Toronto by emigrants from Zhelevo (

Antartiko Antartiko (, until 1927 Ζέλοβο – ''Zelovo''; Macedonian/ Bulgarian: Желево / ''Zhelevo''), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in Macedonia. Nestled in the mountains to the west of Florina at an altitude of 1047 metres, the vill ...

) and Oschnima (

Trigonon A trigonon (trígōnon, from Greek "τρίγωνον", "triangle") is a small triangular ancient Greek harp occasionally used by the ancient Greeks and probably derived from Assyria or Egypt. The trigonon is thought to be either a variety of the ...

) in

Aegean Macedonia Aegean Macedonia ('';'' ) is a term describing the region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia in Northern Greece. It is currently mainly used in the North Macedonia, Republic of North Macedonia, including in the Irredentism, irredentist context of a ...

. Other Macedonian organizations were soon established by emigrants from Zagorichani (Vassiliada), Oshtima (Trigonon), Smardesh (

Krystallopigi Krystallopigi () or Kroustallopigi (Κρουσταλλοπηγή), before 1926: Smardesi (Σμαρδέσι) is a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community in Florina (regional unit), Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. ...

), Gabresh (Gavros), Banitsa (

Vevi Vevi (, before 1926: Μπάνιτσα – ''Banitsa''; Macedonian Language, Macedonian and , ''Banica'' or ''Banitsa'') is a village located in the municipal unit of Meliti (municipal unit), Meliti in Florina (regional unit), Florina regional uni ...

), Buf (Akritas) and Tarsie (Trivuno), all villages in Aegean Macedonia. An internal 1910 census counted 1090 Macedonians in Toronto, who were principally from

Florina Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...

(Lerin) and

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

(Kostur) then in

Ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. During the same year, they established the Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Toronto. and that church published ''The First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary'' in 1913. By 1940 there were claims that over 1200 Macedonian families were in Canada. Post-World War II and

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

migration cause the numbers of Macedonians in Canada to swell. Many early Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, either as factory hands or labourers in abattoirs, or in iron and steel foundries. Many ended up running and owning restaurants, butchers and groceries. Macedonian entrepreneurs and their descendants eventually employed their numerical strength within the food service industry as a catapult into a variety of larger and more sophisticated ventures. Today, most Macedonian Canadians have moved out of cities and into the suburbs, and are employed in the professional, clerical, and service sector of the economy. The 2001 census recorded 31,265 Macedonians, while the 2006 census recorded 37,705 people of Macedonian ancestry. However, community spokespersons claim they number over 100,000. The Institute for Macedonians Abroad claims that there are 120,000 Macedonians in Canada. The Macedonian government estimates that there are 150,000 Macedonians in Canada.

Aegean Macedonians

Many thousands of

Aegean Macedonians Slavic speakers are a minority population in the northern Greek region of Macedonia, who are mostly concentrated in certain parts of the peripheries of West and Central Macedonia, adjacent to the territory of the state of North Macedonia. Th ...

emigrated to Canada in the 1890s. They settled primarily in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, especially

. Many early Aegean Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in Toronto. Later migrants found work as factory in abattoirs and foundries. Chatham and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

attracted many Macedonian immigrants who worked along the railroads. Many later settled in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. Many Aegean Macedonians are parishioners of the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church ...

. They set up many organizations, such as the Lerin Region Macedonian Cultural Association of Canada. In 1979 The Association of Refugee Children from Aegean Macedonia (ARCAM) was set up in order to unite the former child refugees from all over the world. It was reported that chapters had been set up in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Settlement patterns

Many Macedonians originally settled in industrial areas. Most Macedonians came to

via the process of

chain migration Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country. John S. MacDon ...

Organizations

Many organizations have been set up by the Macedonians in Canada. Village associations from Banitsa, Osčima, Bouf and Želevo have been set up. A Macedonian Boys' club was founded in Toronto in 1915. Community picnics were also very common amongst Macedonian immigrants. Macedonian basketball and hockey teams were founded. Fundraisers for assistance for the

and the

1963 Skopje earthquake The 1963 Skopje earthquake () was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia (present-day North Macedonia), then part of the SFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963, which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 an ...

were held. Other establishments, such as the Canadian Macedonian Restaurant Co-op (1970), Canadian Macedonian Business and Professional Association, Canadian Macedonian Historical Society and Macedonian Canadian Medical Society (1992) have been founded in recent years, along with the Macedonian Film Festival (2006). Youth organizations such as Macedonian Association of Canadian Youth, Ryerson Association of Macedonian Students and the Association of Macedonian Students at the University of Toronto are also in operation.

Religion

Originally Macedonian churches were established under the Bulgarian Diocese of America, Canada and Australia. The church Saint's Cyril and Methodius was consecrated in Toronto in 1910. This was followed by the St. George Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Holy Trinity Macedono-Bulgarian Church. Post-war immigrants built churches under the jurisdiction of the

. They were St Clement of Ohrid, St Demetrius of Salonica, St Ilija, St Nedela and St Naum of Ohrid. There are two Macedonian cathedrals in Canada – Toronto being the location of the largest Macedonian church community in Canada: St Clement of Ohrid in Toronto.

Notable Macedonian Canadians

Academia

* Chris Paliare – lawyer, named one of the 50 most influential in Toronto * Andrew Rossos – historian *

Boris P. Stoicheff Boris P. Stoicheff, , (June 1, 1924 – April 15, 2010) was a Macedonian Canadian physicist. Biography Stoicheff was born in Bitola, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia). His family emigrated to Canada 1931, and he grew u ...

– physicist

Art

Gligor Stefanov Gligor Stefanov (born 1956 SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a sculptor and environmental installations artist, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Education and career He graduated at the Belgrade Art Academy with an M.A. Gligor Stefanov has ...

– Sculptor and Iconographer * Georgi Danevski -- Painter, Iconographer and Muralist

Arts

*John Evans - actor, producer, Toronto, Ontario * Virginia Evans – Artistic Director of the Macedonian Film Festival, Toronto, Ontario

Business

John Bitove John I. Bitove Jr. (born 1960 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian businessman and sportsman. He is the founder of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. Through his holding company, Obelysk, he is involved in several entities including; Sirius XM Canad ...

– Chairman and CEO of Obelysk,

Mobilicity Data and Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless, d/b/a Mobilicity, was a Canadian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) owned by Rogers Communications. Its name was a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity". Mobilicity was one of several ...

, Scott's Real Estate Investment Trust, and

SiriusXM Canada Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. (commonly referred to as Sirius XM Canada; normally stylized SiriusXM) is a Canadian broadcasting company which distributes the services of American satellite radio provider Sirius XM in Canada. The current company ...

* John Bitove, Sr. – businessman and philanthropist * Jordan Bitove - Publisher of

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

, owner of

Torstar Torstar Corporation is a Canadian mass media company which primarily publishes news. It is known for publishing the ''Toronto Star'', its flagship and namesake. Torstar was purchased by NordStar Capital LP, which is currently owned by Jordan Bi ...

and Chair of

Nordstar Capital NordStar, officially JSC NordStar Airlines () is a Russian airline based in Norilsk. Its main base is Alykel Airport. It is on the List of airlines banned in the European Union. History NordStar was founded by Norilsk Nickel and was launched ...

* Lou Naumovski – Vice President, Commercial and General Director, Russia, for

Kinross Gold Corporation Kinross Gold Corporation is a Canadian-based gold and silver mining company founded in 1993 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Kinross currently operates six active gold mines, and was ranked fifth of the "10 Top Gold-mining Companies" ...

* Susan Niczowski – CEO and founder of Summer Fresh Salads Inc. *Chris Pavlovski - CEO and founder of Rumble *

Steve Stavro Steve Atanas Stavro, (September 27, 1926 – April 23, 2006; born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas) was a Macedonian-Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philant ...

– businessman and philanthropist; founder of

Knob Hill Farms Knob Hill Farms was a supermarket chain in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada that operated from 1953 to 2001 and was owned by businessman Steve Stavro. It began as a single produce store in the east end of Toronto in 1953 before growing ...

, owner of

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, director of

Liquor Control Board of Ontario The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, ) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It wa ...

* Nada Laskovski – entrepreneur, co-founder of

UrbanToronto UrbanToronto is a website that covers various urban development topics within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2017, the website received over 2 million page views and 225,000 unique users every month, and had over 15,500 registered members. ...

and

Chart Attack ''Chart Attack'' (stylized as ''CHARTattack'') was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine, it was called ''Chart'' and published from 1991 to 2009. Online content ceased to be updated sometime between mid 2017 to 20 ...

* Lorne Bozinoff - founder and CEO of

Forum Research Forum Research is a Canadian market research and polling firm founded in 1993 by Lorne Bozinoff. Forum Research Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and has offices throughout Canada (Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver) and around the world (H ...

Music

Dan Talevski Dan Talevski is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Georgetown, Ontario, who comes from a Macedonian background. His career first began as an online YouTube sensation in 2007 posting covers of popular songs. Since then he has gone on to work with wi ...

– singer-songwriter * Kaitlyn Milanis – Soundcloud Rapper and Litigator

Politics

* Paul Christie – Toronto City and Metropolitan Councillor, TTC Chair *

Lui Temelkovski Ljubomir "Lui" Temelkovski () (born October 4, 1954) is a former Canadians, Canadian federal politician. He was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Parliament of Canada, Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2008 who represented the Electoral distric ...

– Liberal MP, Oak Ridges, Markham 2004–2008

Sports

Andy Andreoff Andy Andreoff (born May 17, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for HC Sibir Novosibirsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Andreoff was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (80th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry ...

– NHL player *

Mike Angelidis Mike Angelidis (born June 27, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who last played with HCB South Tyrol in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Tampa Bay Light ...

– NHL player * Jonah Gadjovich – NHL player *

Tommy Ivan Thomas Nathaniel Ivan (January 31, 1911 – June 25, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager. He served as a National Hockey League (NHL) head coach for the Detroit Red Wings from 1947 to 1954 where he won the Stanley Cup thre ...

–

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

coach, winner of four

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

s *

Dan Jancevski Dan Jancevski (born June 15, 1981) is a Macedonian Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eleven seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) and also in nine National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Dallas Stars and Tamp ...

– NHL defenseman *

Ed Jovanovski Edward Jovanovski (born June 26, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Windsor, Ontario, and is of Macedonian descent. Jovanovski played major junior ice hockey for two seasons with the Windsor Spitfi ...

– NHL player *

Steve Staios Steve Staios (born July 28, 1973) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former professional player. He currently serves as president of hockey operations and general manager for the Ottawa Senators. Staios played right defence in the National Ho ...

– NHL player *

Steven Stamkos Steven Stamkos (born February 7, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stamkos was selected first overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sta ...

– NHL player *

Alek Stojanov Alexander Stojanov (born April 25, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Macedonian descent who spent three seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is best known for his trade from Vancouver to Pittsburgh in exchan ...

– NHL player * Christopher Tanev – NHL player *

Brandon Tanev Brandon Tanev (born December 31, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in the NHL for the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken. B ...

– NHL player * Michael Zigomanis – NHL player

Television and entertainment

*Nicole Servinis – reporter on Breakfast Television (Toronto) and producer for

Entertainment Tonight Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

Ziya Tong Ziya Tong is an English-born Canadian television personality and producer, formerly the co-host of Discovery Channel's long-running primetime science magazine, ''Daily Planet''.Denise Duguay, "Island tour too rushed", ''Leader Post'', Regina, Sa ...

– television producer * Stephanie Skenderis – television producer and reporter for

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

Natasha Negovanlis Natasha Negovanlis is a Canadian actress, writer, producer, and singer. She achieved international recognition for portraying Carmilla Karnstein in the YouTube web series ''Carmilla'' (2014–2016) and in the 2017 feature film based on the ser ...

– actress, singer, writer *

Thea Andrews Thea Andrews (born October 4, 1973) is a Canadian journalist, sports and entertainment television personality, and reality competition and morning show host. From October 2003 to November 2006, she served as co-host on several ESPN shows such a ...

-- journalist and TV personality *

Lex Gigeroff Alexander Kier Gigeroff (June 29, 1962 – December 25, 2011), known professionally as Lex Gigeroff, was a Canadian television writer and actor best remembered as a co-creator of the science fiction series ''Lexx''. He also appeared in the comedy ...

-- television writer, actor and co-creator of the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series ''

Lexx ''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul Donovan (writer), Paul and Michael Donovan (producer), Michael Dono ...

.''

Other

* Angel Shopoff -

Civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

in charge of the construction of the

Burlington Skyway The Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, originally called the Burlington Bay Skyway and simply known as the Burlington Skyway or The Skyway, is a pair of high-level freeway bridges (built in 1958 and 1985) spanning the Burlington Bay Canal. T ...

References

External links

Macedonian Community of Toronto BlogMacedonia Canadian NewspaperHeadquarters of the Macedonian Community in CanadaUnited Macedonians of Canada

Macedonian Human Rights MovementCanadian Macedonian Historical SocietyUnited Macedonian DiasporaMacedonian Embassy in Canada

St Clement of Ohrid, TorontoMacedonian Centre for Culture and Social Integration
{{Macedonian Diaspora + European diaspora in Canada Macedonian diaspora